The Secret really works! Several months ago, when Chapada first opened, I told Brian that I wanted to go there for my birthday. I thought it, and guess what. The universe delivered in the form of a Groupon. If I’m going to try a new place, I might as well try it at half-price, right? (BTW, this deal is available for one more day so go grab one!)

Jay and Becca, who got the same Groupon, joined us for dinner. I’ve heard mixed reviews of Chapada, but our experience was really good. The service was slow at first, but improved as the meal progressed. The process is just like any churrascaria. If you’ve not been to one, you have an all-you-can-eat salad bar and then gauchos with various meats on large skewers come to your table. If you want the meat offered, then you just ask them to slice off a piece for you. This goes on pretty much until you cry, “Uncle!”

Chapada is not quite the same caliber as Fogo de Chao, which is probably the most well-known out of all the churrascarias, or even Texas de Brazil, which we got to try last year when we were visiting Cousin Tracy and Jeff in Fort Worth. However, Chapada is the closest thing you can get to that type of dining experience around these parts because it’s the only churrascaria I know of in Wichita.

Here are some pictures from dinner…

Brian told them we were celebrating my birthday, which isn’t until Tuesday, but close enough — so they let me pick a dessert for free. I chose the cream brûlée (that’s not creme brûlée, mind you — they serve CREAM brûlée at Chapada — LOL), which consisted of three different flavors. There was a coffee flavored one, a raspberry, and a banana. The coffee one was my favorite. If we ever go back, I’m getting the cream brûlée again and asking for all three to be in coffee flavor.

Brian wasn’t a huge fan of the cream brûlée at Chapada. He still prefers the chocolate creme brûlée at Bonefish Grill, which is his favorite creme brûlée. It’s not always available, but he is always happy whenever he can get it.

At dinner Jay and Becca asked if we were having a birthday party for me this year. I told them no, that this was pretty much it. I think they were surprised and disappointed because we had a blast when we had the Ponderosa Party a couple of years ago, complete with “smash” cake and everything. There’s just too many parties going on this weekend already, and we have a mortgage to pay for now so we didn’t really have any extra money to throw at a birthday party (for catering, entertainment, decorations, and such), and we didn’t really have time to plan anything, and 35 is not really a poker hand. When I turn 44, we’ll talk. LOL.

Anyway, we had a great time with Jay and Becca last night. I was a nice, intimate birthday dinner — probably the first birthday dinner of several coming up, because we tend to have multiple dinner celebrations whenever we have birthdays. There’s really no point dieting during your birthday month.

But I digress… Chapada was not bad. However, the salad bar selection is not as vast as what you would find at Texas de Brazil, but you don’t want to get full on that other stuff anyway. You want to save room for the meat. Though it’s not the best of its class of restaurants, the cost is way less than other churrascarias, and it’s not like you really have a choice. They’re the only churrascaria here. For those of you who don’t want to spend the $35 per person for the all-you-can-eat parade-of-meat experience, but would like to try it at least once, then the Groupon is a great option. It’s going to be available for one more day. Go get one.